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 GAME FLOW
NEW YORK (AP) -- Of all the crazy, controversial endings the
Knicks and Heat have produced in the playoffs, this one was as wild
as any of them.
|  | | Marcus Camby, left, blocked six shots, but it wasn't quite enough to help the Knicks stop Dan Majerle and the Heat. |
Anthony Carter's incredible shot from behind the backboard with 2.2 seconds left -- a shot that didn't count until an offensive
goaltending call was waved off -- gave Miami a 77-76 overtime victory over New York on Friday night.
As low-scoring and foul-plagued as the game was, it was one of
the best ones the teams have produced in 20 postseason meetings. In
the end, the fickle bounce of the ball and a rare reversal of a
referee's call gave the Heat a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven
series.
"I thought it was a beautiful game, absolutely a beautiful
game," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "If you want high-flying,
high-scoring games, I don't think this is the series to come
watch."
But for those who appreciate defense, drama and the unexpected,
this was a classic.
Carter, playing the entire overtime as Tim Hardaway was
ineffective, drove along the baseline and faced such a tough angle
that he had to launch the ball over the top corner of the
backboard. Rising 15 feet in the air, the shot hit the front rim,
bounced high -- "It went to the top of the Garden ceiling up
there," Riley said -- and fell through.
Referee Danny Crawford immediately waved the basket off, ruling
that Alonzo Mourning had tipped the ball in, bringing Miami's
coaching staff sprinting onto the floor.
"The only thing going through my head was please don't take my
basket away, please," Carter said. "It was one of the biggest
baskets of my career, and I'm glad one of the referees saw that 'Zo
did not touch the ball."
The other referees pulled Crawford aside and told him he made
the wrong call, and the basket counted.
"The ball was shot from behind the backboard, which should
result in an out-of-bounds on the side," Knicks coach Jeff Van
Gundy said. "Clear as day on the replay."
The officials said the shot was legal because the ball did not
pass directly over the top of backboard, which is prohibited.
"It came over on an angle," Crawford said.
The Knicks had one last chance, but the inbounds pass was
deflected away from Latrell Sprewell into Jamal Mashburn's hands as
time expired.
It was one of the oddest endings to any of the playoff games between these teams, which is no small thing in a rivalry that has featured fights, suspensions and last-second bounces -- but never a shot quite like this one by Carter.
The rookie finished with 10 points, eight assists and seven
rebounds to supplement 23 points from Mourning, 16 from Mashburn
and 14 from P.J. Brown in the first overtime playoff game between
the bitter rivals.
The loss was an excruciating one for the Knicks, especially
Patrick Ewing, whose basket with 2.6 seconds left in regulation
forced overtime. But with a chance to give New York a two-point
lead with 13.7 seconds left, Ewing could only make one of two free
throws.
"Very disappointing," Ewing said. "We were right there. We
just fell short."
For the first four quarters, the defense was so tight and the
offenses so flustered that it looked like it would be the lowest
scoring playoff game in NBA history. The record for fewest combined
points is 142.
It would have earned that distinction even if Mashburn had hit
an open 20-footer at the buzzer in regulation, but he missed to
send the game into an extra period tied at 68-68.
After Mashburn gave Miami a 71-70 lead on a 3-pointer, Allan
Houston got away with a palming violation right before he shot a
24-footer with 3:04 left to give the Knicks a 73-71 edge.
Mashburn then missed a jumper, and Charlie Ward hit Marcus Camby
with a bullet pass under the basket. Camby caught the ball and
dunked it in one quick motion, putting the Knicks up by four with
2:14 left.
Carter answered with two free throws and Mourning hit a jumper
to tie it at 75-75 with 1:17 left, and neither team could convert
on its next possession as Ewing dribbled the ball off his foot and
Majerle missed a long 3-pointer.
Majerle was called for a reach-in foul on Ewing with 13.7 seconds left, but Ewing could only make one of two.
Mourning, who led Miami with 15 points at halftime, picked up
three fouls -- his second, third and fourth -- in a span of 26
seconds early in the third and left the game with 8:13 left.
Ward hit a jumper for a seven-point edge, but with the crowd
begging the Knicks to pull away, the opposite happened. Houston
missed two straight shots, Brown scored four straight points and Clarence Weatherspoon hit a jumper to put the Heat ahead 52-51.
The Knicks led 56-55 entering the fourth, but went 0-for-4 with
four turnovers on their first eight possessions of the quarter, and
a jumper by Brown gave Miami a 60-57 lead with seven minutes left.
Houston, who led the Knicks with 24 points, scored New York's
next three baskets on jumpers, while Mourning scored four of
Miami's next six to keep the Heat ahead by at least a point for the
next four minutes. With Miami ahead 68-66, Houston missed a short
jumper, Ward missed a 3-pointer after an offensive rebound and the
Knicks grabbed another rebound and called timeout with 6.1 seconds
left.
Houston, double-teamed 15 feet away, found Ewing wide open three
feet behind at the free throw line. Ewing nailed the shot, tying
the game at 68. Mashburn got an open look from the top of the key
at the buzzer, but the shot was no good.d 20 minutes later.
Game notes
The crowd broke into a familiar anti-Riley chant early in
the first quarter. Riley, his attention focused on the court,
turned to assistant coach Stan Van Gundy and asked: "What are they
chanting?" Van Gundy didn't sugarcoat his answer as he quoted the
crowd's two-word phrase verbatim. ... Sprewell, usually the last to
arrive for home games, showed up just 80 minutes before tipoff.
Teammates Kurt Thomas and John Wallace arrived 20 minutes later.
Sprewell followed Houston with 23 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
New York Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 77
New York 76
LA Lakers 105
Phoenix 99
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Anthony Carter talks about his game-winning shot.
wav: 133 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
It was a beautiful game in coach Pat Riley's eyes.
wav: 358 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Winning in New York feels great for Jamal Mashburn and the Heat.
wav: 99 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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